[world-vedic] Indian, Arabic and Greek Medical Traditions

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

A few years ago I wrote a paper for a course, comparing Indian and

Arabic

medical traditions. In my research I came across many references

indicating

that the Greeks derived much of their medical knowledge from India,

before

the time of Alexander. Below is a segment of the paper I wrote. I

apologize

for not having the complete references available. Hare Krsna.

Dhira Govinda (Ph.D)

 

"Medical history provides a natural link between Ayurveda and Islamic

medicine. Though many theorists assert that ancient India received its

medical knowledge from Greece and Persia, the available evidence makes

this

seem unlikely. Alexander, after his victory over Porus and before he

entered

India, assured his troops "that they were now going to enter those

famous

countries so abundant in riches, that even what they had found and seen

in

Persia would appear as nothing in comparison to them." Arrian further

informs

us that, in the expedition of Alexander to India, "the Grecian

physicians

found no remedy against the bites of snakes; but the Indians cured

those who

happened to fall under that misfortune. For this reason, Alexander,

having

all the most skillful Indians about his person, caused proclamation to

be

made throughout the camp, that whoever might be bitten by one of these

snakes

should forthwith repair to the royal pavillion to be cured. These

physicians

are also said to have made other cures. Alexander declared that if any

among

his retinue should feel themselves ill, they should see the Brahmanas,

who by

wonderful and even more than human means, could cure whatever condition

one

may come down with." Wise goes on to state that "the knowledge of the

ancient

sages of India was so extensive that their geometry, arithmetic, and

astronomy, surpassed that of Ptolemy; their music that of Pythagoras;

their

mechanics that of Archimedes; their theology that of Plato; and their

logic

that of Aristotle." This, and an abundance of other evidence, make it

doubtful that the ancient Indians learned their medical science from

the

Greeks or Persians.

Furthermore, Kaliph Al Mansur of Persia translated Ayurvedic

scriptures

from Sanskrit into Arabic in the 7th Century AD, and Kaliph

Haroun-al-Rashid

accepted the pre-eminence of Ayurvedic medicine and scholarship, and

imported

Hindu physicians to organize hospitals and medical schools in Baghdad.

It

seems doubtful that the Hindu physicians learned their medicine from

Persia, a

nd then the Persians had to import Hindus to reteach them their own

medical

system.

Rahman (1989) states that there were no hospitals in Arabia during

the

lifetime of Mohammad the Prophet. Shortly after Mohammad's departure,

and

after the Arabs' initial acquaintance with Greek medicine, Anushrawan

invited

medical practitioners from India to Iran, and a medical school was

established. This marked the beginning of the Muslims' brilliant

cultivation

of medical science. Said (1976) lists several Ayurvedic books that were

translated from Sanskrit into Arabic, including treatises on

gynecology,

psychology and psychedelic drugs. Also, Islamic medicine in India,

called

Yunani, clearly absorbed much of the original Ayurvedic system of

medicines.

Tibb, another form of medicine practiced by Muslims in India, has even

greater resemblance to Ayurveda than does Yunani, as Yunani is a

derivative

of Greek medicine (Basham). "